- De-clutter
It is human nature to want to accumulate stuff, but the fact is that 99% of the time you’re never going to use it and it’s just going to slow you down until you do so chuck it in the garbage or resist the urge to use it in the first place.
- Standardize
Making things standard and consistent goes a long way to making them simpler and easier to accomplish. If you take the time to standardize the processes in your shop, the benefits are that quality and accuracy are going to improve and it will make it easier for everyone to learn and to do their jobs. Think of how fast food restaurants standardize their cooking processes.
- Automate
We all know that we’re not going to compete on low wages and large volumes anymore; at least not in North America. There is a small niche for traditional high quality handmade, but the rest of us need to embrace technology. Wood manufacturing is not about making dust anymore, it’s about software and robots. High-Tech aside, automation is also about making processes automatic as in how to automate the order entry process or the inventory replenishing process etc…
- Continuously Improve
All the tips above are part of a greater ideology, where one seeks to continuously improve themselves and their processes. If you have an underlying desire to continuously improve, then you’ll take small steps in that direction every single day and the incremental improvements that you’ll be able to make will add up to a considerable evolution over time getting you closer to your goal.
- Get out of the office
Your job as an entrepreneur is to plan and to lead. In order to make your business grow or change, you need to take yourself out of the picture and let the people you hired execute your plan. “Work on your business, not in your business.” Learn new skills, hire new talent, find new customers, and create new recipes and network with other people in your industry; that’s the job of a business leader.
By the way, the great destination to get out of the office is upcoming Canadian Manufacturing Technology Show (September 28 – October 1). Attend the show on us ($50 value), request a promo code at www.fgwinc.ca/cmts.
Sincerely,